Un Hemisphere dans un Chevelure
by safensound
Summary: Alicia has been distracted lately by the ever-shifting colors in a certain Beater's hair... A quick fluffy one shot. DISCLAIMER no characters belong to me


Un Hémisphère dans une Chevelure

(a universe in a head of hair)

Title's a bit lofty, I know, but it's a poem by Charles Baudelaire that I just read in French class, and the title just kind of works with a story about a Weasley twin :) anyway, I read a wonderful story about the twins' group a while back and since then have been in love with George/Alicia. Here's a short little scene, hope you enjoy!

WARNING: PURE, UNADULTERATED FLUFF AHEAD

XXX

Alicia shook her head, trying to rid it of her most recent thoughts. She should really be focusing on Quidditch, considering they were in the middle of a pickup match and not focusing could mean plummeting to her death from her broom.

It was a rare sunny day in spring of her sixth year, and her friends had decided to head out to the pitch for some flying time. Angelina, Fred, and Katie were on the opposing team, and somehow Alicia and George had gotten stuck with Lee as their third, even though he was terrified of flying and hovered uncertainly near the hoops, clinging desperately to the front of his broom. Katie flew confident circles around the hoops at the other end of the pitch, while Angelina and Fred passed the quaffle between them with the ease of long practice. Since they had become a couple they were one unit, one indistinguishable from the other.

That unit was currently making its determined way towards poor Lee, so Alicia swooped in and punched the quaffle from under Fred's arm. George, anticipating her action, had taken up position beneath Fred and caught the red ball easily. As they weaved their way down the pitch towards Katie, Alicia chanced a look back at George and once again was caught up in the play of the sunlight on his red hair…

George again became the source of her distraction, as he so often was these days. Her grade in Potions had taken a nosedive because she often found herself marveling at the colors the wall sconces' flames would bring out in George's hair, deeper reds like blood, making his freckled cheeks stand out against their darkness. And here in the sun the top of his head shone like polished copper, contrasting with the darker underside of his hair and giving it the appearance of actual flame.

She hadn't realized how dramatically she had slowed until George called out from well ahead of her. Angelina and Fred were closing in on him from above and he shot a desperate look at Alicia and tossed the quaffle down towards her.

It was hopeless. Even with George's strength, she was too far away. The quaffle began to arc downwards, and dropped like a stone towards the sandy warning track far below. Alicia snapped out of her strange trance and began to dive for it at the same moment Angelina did. Alicia was closer but Angelina was an excellent flyer, and so Alicia flattened herself against her broom and plunged straight towards the ground, ignoring her screaming instincts.

She could sense Angelina getting closer, saw glances of her out of the corners of her eyes. Alicia willed her borrowed broom to go faster; if Angelina got the quaffle there was no one to stop her from charging to score and terrifying the wits out of Lee.

"Come off it, Spinnet! That quaffle's mine!" Her voice was right in Alicia's ear. She looked around and saw that she and Angelina were neck and neck, Angelina's arm extended, so close to the quaffle. Scratch that, so close to the GROUND! Alicia hadn't realized how quickly the sand was rushing up to meet them. In her moment of uncertainty, her broom stopped short and straightened itself out beneath her.

She let out a sharp cry as she was thrown in to the air in a spectacular arc, slamming in to Angelina and knocking the quaffle out of her hands before falling head over heels towards the ground.

The next thing she knew, she was blinking up into the now-too-bright sun and struggling to catch her breath, and hearing the concerned voices of her friends above her.

"Maybe I should go and get Madam Pomfrey…"

"Merlin, what a fall!"

"She wasn't _that_ far from the ground." That voice was Fred's.

"Shut up Fred!" Alicia heard the muffled thump of Angelina punching Fred in the arm.

"She's waking up! Back off her for a minute, let her breathe." George's voice, very close to her. She opened her eyes all the way and saw his face leaning over her. He was on his knees in the sand beside her, his face pinched with concern. His hair was slightly sweaty, sticking up from his head in a million directions. The sun behind him turned the ends a bright gold, forming a halo of red and gold around his face. She half reached out to touch it before she knew what she was doing and stopped herself.

"Sit back, Leesh, don't try to get up." He said gently, noticing the jerky movement her arm had made. She caught her breath and tried to nod. She noticed then the dull pain that coursed throughout her entire body.

"Anything broken, you think? Do you need us to take you to the hospital wing?" He was still using that gentle quiet tone, and she knew she was the only one who could hear him. She stretched her sore limbs and rotated her feet and hands. Nothing hurt all that much more than anything else, so she shook her head and took a deep breath.

"Blimey, Leesh, what happened? You scared me enough, aiming for the ground like that, but I never thought you'd actually hit it!" His voice was sharper now, but he was still speaking just to her.

"I – I don't know really." Her voice was scratchy, like there was sand in her throat. That was it, the sand. It had nothing to do with George's proximity. "My bloody broom just stopped itself." She looked past George with an effort, and sure enough, there was the offending broom, hovering just where it had stopped and thrown her, without even the decency to look ashamed of itself. George turned and looked as well, and Alicia's eyes were immediately drawn to his exposed neck. When he looked back at her she met his eyes with heat flooding her cheeks.

"School brooms. I'll go destroy it right now if you'd like. I know a ton of jinxes, although how they would work on brooms I'm not entirely sure."

She managed a smile at that, and the answering smile on his face sent another wave of heat to her face. When he noticed the color in her cheeks, his face changed to one of concern again. "Are you alright? You don't feel sick do you? Not feverish or anything?"

She laughed aloud at that. George had never been so concerned for anyone. "I'm fine, George, just got the wind knocked out of me is all. What's with all this nursing, considering a career change?"

Now it was his turn to blush. "Because I, well I just, um…" He cleared his throat. "Here let me help you up, see if you can stand." He hooked a hand under her elbow and reached around her back with the other. She leaned on him and stood shakily. On her feet she stumbled backwards and found herself against George's chest. She felt him take a sharp breath at the same time she did. He cleared his throat again and set her right.

It was so soft she almost thought she'd imagined it, but she could have sworn that he had whispered "Because I love you, Alicia," in her ear before he had let go.

She wheeled around to face him and saw his face was almost as red as his hair, but he didn't break eye contact with her.

She heard a soft thud and then Fred's voice saying "Oh good, Lee, you've joined us."

"Hey these things are not as easy to land as you all make it seem! I mean, you saw what happened! I swear I am never flying again."

"You can stand, thank Merlin." The relieved tones of Angelina finally broke into Alicia's consciousness. Her best friend rushed towards her and enveloped her in a tight hug. The pain brought Alicia all the way back to her senses.

"Ow." She managed to squeeze out. Angelina immediately jumped off her as if she had been burned. "Shit, Leesh, sorry, are you OK?"

Alicia smiled reassuringly at her friend. "I'm alright. I think we ought to call it a day though, I need to submerge my entire body in ice"

"Of course, of course. Come on guys, it's about dinner time anyway." Angelina began to lead the way back to the castle, Fred trailing behind her muttering something about "…quaffle was ours." Lee and Katie followed, Katie patting Lee on the back and trying to calm down his shaking.

At last it was just Alicia and George, walking slowly behind their friends. They were awkwardly silent for a few minutes, until Alicia couldn't stand it anymore.

"Did you say-"

"You don't have to say anything. It was nothing." The dejection in George's voice made her stop and stare at him. He wouldn't meet her eyes. "George, what are you talking about?"

"I shouldn't have said anything, it was stupid." He continued his study of the grass at her feet.

"Stupid… Oh you bloody idiot."

He looked up at that, but only managed to get out a confused "Wha-" before she closed the distance between them and kissed him full on the mouth. He stiffened, confused, but it only took him a few seconds before he wrapped his hands gently around her waist and began to kiss her back.

When they pulled away, they were both as red as George's hair. His beautiful hair, echoing the colors of the sunset behind him. She reached up and stroked a hank of it away from his eyes. She could tell she was grinning like an idiot, but couldn't bring herself to care. George's expression mirrored the same dazed happiness, and she felt that she could have stayed there in his arms all night.

"Oi, lovebirds, wanna get in here before they close the doors and dinner's all gone?" Lee teased from the stairs to Alicia's left. The mention of food clearly caught George's attention, and he sighed and regretfully let go of Alicia to march towards the castle. He held on to her hand, however, like he would never let it go. She didn't want him to.


End file.
